Ultimates
The Ultimates is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, and first appeared in The Ultimates #1 (March 2002), as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel imprint. The team is a modern reimagining of the superhero team the Avengers.1 Publication history The first volume of the Ultimates, written by Millar and illustrated by Hitch, was published in limited series format and ran for thirteen issues with production delays from March 2002 until April 2004. Hitch described the alternative-reality reimagining as one where, "You have to approach it as though nothing has happened before and tell the story fresh from the start.... We had to get to the core of who these people were and build outwards, so Cap America was a soldier, Thor is either a nut case or a messiah ... Banner Hulk an insecure genius, and Nick Fury the king of cool".2 A second series, also by Millar and Hitch and with similar production delays,3 was released as Ultimates 2 and ran 13 issues (Dec. 2004 - May 2007). In a 2004 interview, Millar outlined the difference between the Ultimates and the Avengers: "The idea behind The Avengers is that the Marvel Universe's biggest players all get together and fight all the biggest supervillains they can't defeat individually, whereas Ultimates 2 is an exploration of what happens when a bunch of ordinary people are turned into super-soldiers and being groomed to fight the real-life war on terror."1 This was followed by the one-shot Ultimate Saga (Nov. 2007), a condensed retelling, by writers C. B. Cebulski and Mindy Owens and artist Travis Charest, of the events of Ultimates and Ultimates 2. A third series, Ultimates 3 (Dec 2007 - Sept 2008) was written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Joe Madureira.4 Mark Millar returned to the Ultimates with a series of shorter miniseries, beginning in 2009 with Ultimate Comics: Avengers, which ran from August 2009 until July 2011.5 Plot synopsis General Nick Fury of the international peacekeeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D. establishes a strike force of government-sponsored metahumans when the President of the United States approves a new defense budget to combat the growing risk of the U.S. being attacked by supervillains. The team, dubbed the Ultimates, includes Tony Stark (Iron Man) and scientist couple Hank and Janet Pym (Giant-Man and the Wasp) and take up residence in the Triskelion, an island laboratory run by S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor is offered a position in the Ultimates, but he declines unless the President agrees to triple the funds allocated to environmental issues in the budget. Bruce Banner is made the new science director, attempting to duplicate the super soldier serum. Betty Ross, Bruce's ex-girlfriend, is appointed as the team's Director of Communications. Bruce attempts to rekindle their relationship but is constantly spurned and belittled. A S.H.I.E.L.D. research team discovers Captain America frozen in the Arctic and attempts to gain a sample of the serum from his body. Instead, Captain America is revived and offered a place in the Ultimates. The Ultimates fail to gain major publicity, and the government considers withdrawing the defense budget. However, Bruce, in an attempt to create the team's first major fight, combines Captain America's super-soldier serum with the formula that turns him into the Hulk and injects it into his blood steam, transforming him into a larger, more powerful Hulk. The Hulk goes on a murderous rampage through Manhattan searching for Betty, who is on a date with Freddie Prinze, Jr. The Ultimates intercept him and a battle ensues, and Giant-Man is incapacitated early in the fight. The President doubles the international aid budget at the last second, and Thor arrives to help the Ultimates. The Hulk is eventually subdued when the Wasp navigates her way into his brain and electrocutes his brain stem, reverting him back to his original self. The following day, the Ultimates become celebrities and are lavished with media attention. The Hulk's real identity is hidden from the public and Bruce is kept in isolation while Betty tries to make amends with him for her behavior. Hank, humiliated by his quick defeat in the battle, takes his anger out on Janet and abuses her by forcing her to shrink down into her wasp form and assaulting her with bug spray and mind controlled ants. Suspended from the Ultimates for this act, Hank flees to Chicago, but is followed by Captain America, who brutally beats him and breaks his jaw. However, Janet lashes out at Captain America for this and defends Hank, even if he did abuse her. Meanwhile, a dead alien organism is discovered and reports confirm that the creatures were involved in World War II. The creatures, referred to as the Chitauri, are revealed to be the ones who financed the Nazi regime during World War II in an attempt to take over the world and have been increasing in numbers for the past fifty years. General Fury enlists the aid of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Black Widow and Hawkeye to kill several Chitauri disguised as humans. The duo kills dozens of Chitauri. Research shows that the Chitauri have a base in Micronesia. The Ultimates, along with two former members of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, are sent in to destroy the base, but are surprised to find it abandoned once they arrive. Meanwhile, Janet discovers that the Chitauri have overrun the Triskelion and that the Ultimates are walking into a trap. She is too late to warn them as the Chitauri activate a series of nuclear explosives that apparently kills the team. Janet is taken captive and meets the alien leader, Herr Kleiser. Kleiser explains that the Chitauri are all controlled by a single eusocial mind that spans across the entire universe, and that the event taking place on Earth is one of many other invasions happening across millions of different planets. Kleiser also says that the Chitauri can take the form of whatever organism they consume, and he himself plans on devouring Janet so that he may experiment with the human female form. The Chitauri are forced to make a change of plans when their armada descends upon the Earth, revealing their existence to the entire world. The admiral claims that the other worlds are fighting back and have forced them into the Earth's solar system, and that they will have to abandon their attempts at colonizing the Earth and instead completely destroy it. Suddenly, a freak lightning storm, called up by Thor, hits the Triskelion, destroying all Chitauri land forces. The Ultimates appear, revealed to have survived the explosion in Micronesia thanks to a force field deployed through Iron Man's armor. Janet is freed and a final battle ensues. Captain America and Fury lead several S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers in a ground assault while Iron Man and Thor assist the aerial assault against the Chitauri ships. Janet, Black Widow, and Hawkeye infiltrate the Triskelion and locate the bomb, but are unable to defuse it because it is written in an alien language. Captain America brawls with Kleiser, and is easily overpowered because of Kleiser's rapid healing factor. On Captain America's command, Bruce Banner is released from isolation and is beaten by several S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers to make him turn into the Hulk once again. When this fails due to Banner being heavily medicated, he is thrown off a helicopter, which has the intended result. Hulk takes down Chitauri ships, then proceeds to brutally beat Kleiser, before ripping him apart and eating his remains. Thor is able to dispose of the bomb by sending it through a portal to another dimension. Hawkeye fires an adamantium arrow at the Hulk, injecting him with an antidote that causes him to revert to his human form. The remaining Chitauri are soon killed and the Earth is saved. In the aftermath of the conflict, the Ultimates are invited to a celebration being held at the White House for their part in saving the Earth from the Chitauri. Hank calls Janet, hoping to apologize for abusing her, but Janet hangs up on him before he has a chance. Banner willingly returns to isolation, horrified and disturbed that he had eaten Kleiser, and his excretions are collected by S.H.I.E.L.D. to be analyzed and destroyed so that Kleiser will not reform. During the celebration, Captain America and Janet share a dance and a kiss. Plot The Ultimates General Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. establishes a strike force of government-sponsored metahumans which includes Captain America; scientist couple Henry and Janet Pym (Giant-Man and the Wasp); Bruce Banner (the Hulk) and Tony Stark (Iron Man). Together they are based at the S.H.I.E.L.D facility, the Triskelion. When Banner injects himself with the super-soldier serum and goes on a bloody rampage as the Hulk, he is eventually stopped by the other metahumans with the aid of Thor. The team then join forces with the mutants Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch and agents Hawkeye and Black Widow against the alien shape-shifters the Chitauri, who are defeated.6 The Ultimates 2 A year later public opinion has turned against the team when it is discovered that Bruce Banner is in fact the Hulk and was responsible for hundreds of deaths. The team is undermined further when Thor is accused of being an escaped mental patient and is incarcerated. This is the doing of his brother Loki, who also facilitates the creation of a new team of anti-American multi-nationals called the Liberators. With the aid of the Black Widow – who betrays the team to the Liberators – the Ultimates are captured, but eventually escape and battle the Liberators to the death. With the aid of Asgardian warriors, the Ultimates defeat both Loki and the Liberators. The Ultimates 3 Hank Pym is under house arrest at Ultimates Mansion. One of Pym's Ultron robots drugs him and leaks a sex tape of Stark and the Black Widow to the Internet. These distract from the robot's fatal shooting of the Scarlet Witch. Magneto abducts Wanda's corpse and retreats to the Savage Land, where he is confronted by the Ultimates. Pym and Wasp discover the truth about the Ultron robot, which has adopted the identity of Yellowjacket and uses the Ultimates' DNA to create a series of android duplicates. Although the true Ultimates destroy their android counterparts and Yellowjacket, Quicksilver is apparently killed by Hawkeye. The Wasp then invites Pym to return to the Ultimates, and he accepts. The mastermind behind the robot's plot is revealed to be Doctor Doom. New Ultimates The Ultimate Defenders, suddenly with superpowers, steal Thor's hammer from Valkyrie. Hela agrees to release Thor in exchange for a son. Loki arrives in Central park with an army of monsters. Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates Writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribić relaunched the Ultimates with a different lineup consisting of Nick Fury, Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Woman, and others.78 All-New Ultimates Following the conclusion of the miniseries Cataclysm and under the Ultimate Marvel NOW! banner, coinciding with the Marvel Universe All-New Marvel NOW! launch, writer Michel Fiffe and artist Amilcar Pinna brought together a new team including Spider-Man (Miles Morales), the new Black Widow (Jessica Drew) (and former Spider-Woman), Kitty Pryde, Bombshell and Cloak and Dagger.9 The book ran for 12 issues. Gallery Tumblr lwmri0XDgN1qzlgbao1 500.jpg Tumblr lwmri0XDgN1qzlgbao2 500.jpg Category:Marvel Heroes Category:Comic Book Heroes Category:Teams